Reformatting a Mac drive for PC at DVinfo.net

Ervin Farkas · May 7th, 2008, 10:32 AM

I have an external 2.5" USB hard drive formatted on a Mac.

What options do I have to reformat this drive for PC/NTFS other than formatting it on a Mac as FAT32 and then formatting it on a PC as NTFS?

Thanks,

George Kroonder · May 7th, 2008, 10:42 AM

I take it you want to transfer some files on it, otherwise the PC can just partition & format the drive regardless.

FAT32 is the only out of the box format that you farmat a disk with on a Mac and read it on Windows.

However on Windows you can use MacDrive to use and format Mac disks (like Mac OS Extended HFS+) or any other Mac formatted media (CD's, zip's, you name it).

You can do the reverse on Macs with Paragon NTFS, although I think it is not as good as MacDrive is on the PC.

Now it's all about choice!

George/

P.S. Whoohoo, post #200!

Ervin Farkas · May 7th, 2008, 10:46 AM

No, I don't need to transfer anything.

And no again, Windows does not "see" the drive, so I can't do a thing with it on the PC.

George Kroonder · May 7th, 2008, 01:24 PM

The disk will not mount on Windows, but the hardware should be detected. Windows should "ding" when you connect it to the USB port and it should be listed in the "Safely Remove Hardware" system tray icon (next to the time).

After connecting it and checking it gets recognized, right-click on "My Computer", select "Manage". Click on "Disk Managemen". The disk should be listed there.

Remove any existing partitions/create a new partition by right-clicking on the disk representation and after creating the partition format it NTFS.

That should do it.

George/

Ervin Farkas · May 7th, 2008, 04:55 PM

Mr. Gates' hardware classes were sooo boring, I must've missed this one...

OK, it shows up in the device manager under disks, right clicked, but I see no option to manage partitions or to reformat...

John Miller · May 7th, 2008, 08:19 PM

Start menu/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management (the same for XP and Vista)

You'll see a list of all the storage devices - mainly disk drives but also smart card readers, flash drives etc.

One of them will show up as having no partition etc. Create a new partition and then quick format to NTFS.

Ervin Farkas · May 7th, 2008, 09:08 PM

Thanks John, it's all done now.

May 7th, 2008, 10:32 AM	#1
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Reformatting a Mac drive for PC I have an external 2.5" USB hard drive formatted on a Mac. What options do I have to reformat this drive for PC/NTFS other than formatting it on a Mac as FAT32 and then formatting it on a PC as NTFS? Thanks, __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 7th, 2008, 10:46 AM	#3
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	No, I don't need to transfer anything. And no again, Windows does not "see" the drive, so I can't do a thing with it on the PC. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 7th, 2008, 04:55 PM	#5
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Mr. Gates' hardware classes were sooo boring, I must've missed this one... OK, it shows up in the device manager under disks, right clicked, but I see no option to manage partitions or to reformat... __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 7th, 2008, 09:08 PM	#7
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Thanks John, it's all done now. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

May 7th, 2008, 10:42 AM	#2
George Kroonder Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Utrecht, NL \| Europe 3rd Rock from the Sun Posts: 612	I take it you want to transfer some files on it, otherwise the PC can just partition & format the drive regardless. FAT32 is the only out of the box format that you farmat a disk with on a Mac and read it on Windows. However on Windows you can use MacDrive to use and format Mac disks (like Mac OS Extended HFS+) or any other Mac formatted media (CD's, zip's, you name it). You can do the reverse on Macs with Paragon NTFS, although I think it is not as good as MacDrive is on the PC. Now it's all about choice! George/ P.S. Whoohoo, post #200!

May 7th, 2008, 01:24 PM	#4
George Kroonder Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Utrecht, NL \| Europe 3rd Rock from the Sun Posts: 612	The disk will not mount on Windows, but the hardware should be detected. Windows should "ding" when you connect it to the USB port and it should be listed in the "Safely Remove Hardware" system tray icon (next to the time). After connecting it and checking it gets recognized, right-click on "My Computer", select "Manage". Click on "Disk Managemen". The disk should be listed there. Remove any existing partitions/create a new partition by right-clicking on the disk representation and after creating the partition format it NTFS. That should do it. George/

May 7th, 2008, 08:19 PM	#6
John Miller Major Player Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hillsborough, NC, USA Posts: 968	Start menu/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management (the same for XP and Vista) You'll see a list of all the storage devices - mainly disk drives but also smart card readers, flash drives etc. One of them will show up as having no partition etc. Create a new partition and then quick format to NTFS.